William Hubbard Brown was born on June 9, 1796 in Colchester, Connecticut. The family moved to Auburn, New York where William and his father practiced law together, but after a few years William sought new opportunities in the West. He could have lived anywhere, but he decided to settle in Illinois because its constitution prohibited slavery. While living downstate he was appointed Clerk of the U.S. Court and purchased an interest in the Illinois Intelligencer, Illinois’s oldest newspaper.

In 1835 he moved to Chicago to accept a position with the Illinois State Bank bringing with him his children and his wife, Harriet C. Seward Brown, a cousin of William H. Seward. The couple had four sons: S. Lockwood Brown, Charles B. Brown, Theodore F. Brown and Frederick Brown, and one daughter, Mary.

William H. Brown became wealthy through investments in the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad; however, he continued working for the public good. He served as the first president of the Chicago Historical Society. As one of Chicago’s first School Inspectors, he helped improve conditions for students in the city of 2,000 inhabitants. And, while serving in the Illinois General Assembly he campaigned to nominate Abraham Lincoln for president.

William H. Brown died of smallpox on June 17, 1867 while vacationing in Amsterdam, Holland. He was bured in Graceland Cemetery on Chicago's far North Side.